Forum on Action Item #1
in advance of
the 4/28/11
General Faculty Meeting
Context for Action Item #1Amendment to II.2 and II.3 (NTT/DPC issue)
• Ongoing 5 year discussion about voting, DPCs, craft models,
etc.
• Dissatisfaction with “all or nothing” approach to voting privileges;
this unlinks Non-Tenure Track (NTT) voting privileges from DPC
privileges
• Problem of excessive use of the “adjunct” prefix just to prevent
NTT eligibility for DPCs and NTT voting
• ASU is not in line with Promotion & Tenure practices at peer
institutions and all other tenure-granting UNC schools
Nationwide best practices are to provide
voting privileges appropriate to rank--but
what are ASU’s ranks?
• Lecturer: contract faculty, reappointed contingent upon departmental
need; duty is only teaching; terminal degree not required. About 130
without “adjunct” at ASU, most 3/4 or full time. At ASU, most do not
possess terminal degree.
• Instructor: use of term should be rare; this is a temporary rank, used for
TT hire with terminal degree in progress; faculty will move up to Assistant
Professor when degree is completed. (Has been misapplied here,
historically; but has been more appropriately applied in past two years).
Currently 12 without “adjunct.”
• Assistant, Associate and Full Professor: Tenure track line, duties are
teaching, research and service, terminal degree (or equivalent) required.
About 785 at ASU.
Proposed
ARTICLE II-Meeting and Voting
Section 2.
All members of the faculty, excluding part-time
faculty teaching less than six (6) hours per semester,
emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty have the right to
hold faculty offices and to vote in faculty meetings
and faculty elections and in departmental and college
committees on which they serve except as noted in
Article II, Section 3.
Section 3.
Those eligible to serve on and participate in election
of members to departmental personnel committees
are full time faculty in the ranks of instructor,
assistant professor, associate professor, and
professor.
Deleted : , and part-time faculty teaching less
than six (6) hours per semester,
Deleted : lecturer,
Section 2 changes nothing--just moves the underlined phrase up to improve clarity.
The real change is in Section 3---to delete “Lecturer.” For implications, see next slide.
What does my vote mean?
YES
FT Professors, Assoc. Professors,
Assistant Professors & Instructors will
be eligible to serve on DPCs
FT Professors, Assoc. Professors,
Assistant Professors & Instructors will
be eligible to elect the membership of
DPCs
Don’t want FT Lecturers on DPCs? No
need to do anything. Thus, the prefix
“adjunct” need not be applied to
limit DPC service, and thus FT
Lecturers will have voting and
committee privileges
There is no change to the voting status of
any faculty other than full-time
Lecturers.
NO
FT Professors, Assoc. Professors,
Assistant Professors, Instructors &
Lecturers will be eligible to serve on
DPCs
FT Professors, Assoc. Professors,
Assistant Professors, Instructors, and
Lecturers will be eligible to elect the
membership of DPCs
Don’t want FT Lecturers on DPCs?
Lecturers must get “adjunct” prefix,
which removes all voting and
committee privileges
There is no change to the voting status
of any faculty
Contextual facts: In the UNC system, who is eligible to
be on committees that make Promotion & Tenure
decisions?
Tenure-track only
TT and NTT
High Schools-No tenure
Eastern Carolina
Elizabeth City
Fayetteville
NC Central
NC State
NC-AT&T
UNC-Asheville
UNC-Chapel Hill
UNC-Charlotte
UNC-Greensboro
UNC-Pembroke
UNC-Wilmington
Western Carolina*
Winston Salem State
Appalachian
School of Science and Math
School of the Arts
Data gathered by survey, phone calls and reading
Faculty Handbooks.
Committees vary: some craft models, some include
all TT ranks, some elected, some appointed, about
half only do Promotion & Tenure, about half do NTT
appointment and other hires as well.
At most places NTT voting privileges on non-P&T
items vary by department and at many place are
reserved only for Full-time NTTs.
*Only WCU permits Full Time NTTs to elect DPC
membership.
Contextual facts: At our peer institutions, who is eligible to be
on committees that make Promotion & Tenure decisions?
Tenure-track only
TT and NTT
Bowling Green
Cal State-Chico
Cal State-Fresno
College of Charleston
Eastern Illinois
George Mason
Georgia Southern
James Madison
Miami University Ohio
Northern Iowa
Sam Houston State
Stephen F. Austin
Towson
U Wisconsin-La Crosse
West Chester Pennsylvania
Western Illinois
Western Washington
Appalachian
Data gathered by survey, phone calls and reading
Faculty Handbooks.
Committees vary: some craft models, some include
all TT ranks, some elected, some appointed, about
half only do Promotion &Tenure, about half do NTT
appointment and other hires as well.
At most places NTT voting privileges on non-P&T
items vary by department and at many place are
reserved only for Full Time NTTs.
#1 Question at forum:
Q: If the vote passes and Full-time Lecturers are no longer eligible
to serve on DPCs, how can NTTs be assured DPCs will
reappoint NTTs fairly?
A: (1) Strong departmental policy documents with clear
reappointment criteria should make NTTs more confident in
DPC decision making;
(2) Those departments that wish to do so can create “search
committees” to handle NTT reappointment--these committees
could report either to DPC or directly to chair, as per the Faculty
Handbook.
Summary-Why Senate recommended that faculty
consider this amendment to the Constitution:
• Culmination of 5 year discussion
• Adopts best practices nationwide of voting privileges appropriate to rank:
– Better for NTTs: protects most vulnerable category of faculty from
contentious P&T decision making and high DPC workload; but
encourages voting outside of DPCs
– Better for TTs: Having only TTs on DPCs is in line with P&T practices
fitting with ASU’s mission as stated in the strategic plan, ASU’s
growing reputation/brand, and reputable credentialing
• Revises “all or nothing” approach to voting by unlinking NTT voting
privileges from DPC eligibility
• Reduces motivation to use the “adjunct” prefix just to prevent Lecturer
eligibility for DPCs